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Britney in Crisis

Originally posted Thursday January 10, 2008 12:00 PM EST

DECEMBER 2007: "He won't last," a Spears pal says of her relationship with the British-bred Ghalib. "She’s just using him." Photo by: Cousart-Rios / JFX

Also at issue is the question of what role, if any, drugs and alcohol are playing in Spears' troubles. According to Dr. Diana Kirschner, who has not treated Spears, "people who show patterns of behavior like Britney are suffering from a dual diagnosis. They have both a substance abuse problem and a bipolar disorder or manic disorder." (In September Spears was characterized by the court in her custody case to be a "habitual, frequent, and continuous" user of drugs.) L.A. police said Spears appeared to be under the influence of "an unknown substance" during the ordeal, and she was drug tested when she was admitted to Cedars-Sinai. A reliable source says, "When you take prescription meds, that will show up in a test. But what we're talking about here is illegal drugs and alcohol, and for that she has tested clean." As for reports that she was suicidal, "this is really a matter of her being unstable, not suicidal," says another source. "She's not balanced."

It's hardly the way folks back in Kentwood, La., remember the bubbly young Spears. Growing up, "she was the sweetest, most mannerly little girl in the world," says a family friend. But her home life wasn't always stable: After her parents divorced in 2002, she called it "the best thing that's ever happened to my family." Troubles have plagued the paternal side of her family tree as well: Her grandmother Emma Spears shot herself to death at 31; Jamie has battled alcohol problems. Still, says Britney's former dance teacher and family friend Renee Donewar, "I've never heard anyone talk about there being a history of mental illness in her family or making a big deal about it at all."

Of course, from her pig-tailed beginnings as a tween idol to her evolution as a sexy superstar and then newlywed and new mom, Spears has weathered nearly every triumph – and misstep – in the public eye. But this latest, gravest saga may have its roots in the postpartum depression Spears suffered after the births of her two boys, say several sources. "She would be sweet and happy sometimes, and the next minute she would explode and demand her way and then be depressed," says a source who was close to the family during her marriage. "She wasn't manic while I was there, but she was depressed a lot," says a former nanny. "She would say, 'The only time I feel relaxed is when I've had a drink.' She started reading Brooke Shields' book [on postpartum depression]." Adds another source: "When [she and Kevin] announced they were pregnant, I was worried. She was a genuinely sweet person, but she related to her [then] 13-year-old sister the most. She still seemed like a little girl." The '06 breakup of her marriage only worsened things, adds this source: "Once they started having problems, the mania started showing. As soon as the one close relationship in her life started to deteriorate, she started to deteriorate."

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